Raw Wounds
by Lolirotten
Summary: Sakura, why do you love him?" "Because he's something I'll never have."
1. Belligerence

'I will be your undoing.'

--

Blonde, blustering, blatant... Bruised, belligerent, bare.

'How I have changed.' she mumbled, a graceless heap on the stained sheets of a hotel mattress. The smell of blood and other bodily fluids permeated the room, sneaking into her broken nose and launching a full attack.

The man had left hours ago. He even had the _decency_ to leave some money on the floor.

It wasn't the first time she had suffered broken bones. With her right hand, she pushed some chakra into the bridge of her nose. Within seconds it had been healed. It wasn't even crooked. She wasn't even sure why they picked her. Her skin was hard and worn. Though she didn't have many wrinkles, her eyes had the constant circles underneath them, that even the makeup couldn't hide. Some days they matched the colour of her eye shadow.

Sitting up, she let out a groan. She dressed quickly and efficiently. She had even gotten the information she needed.

--

'Hello, Hokage-sama. I have brought your report.' she said in a breathy monotone. Her eyes shifted towards the girl with pink hair. Over the years her hunter green eyes had lost their luster, while her soft body and full cheeks had begun to hollow. She still wore the ridiculous red outfit, which attracted unnecessary attention. Ino had long since abandoned purple. She wore the standard jounin garb, complete with small bags of herbs. The village had once said she was useless, while the pink haired girl would surpass even Tsunade herself. That was when she began to train. She left her team, and trained herself with animals. When she surpassed that, she went for Naruto. She wanted to learn his shadow clone technique... and spy on Sakura.

--

_'Sakura-chan!' she yelled happily, holding out her arms. The pink haired girl ran into her arms delightedly, and Ino sniffed her raspberry scented hair. Every day, they would meet like this. 'What should we do today? Pick flowers?'_

_Sakura looked up. 'I... think we should go spy on Sasuke-kun!'_

_Ino moved sharply, disconcerted. 'Sasuke.. Why him? He's so stuck-up.'_

_--_

_'Ino.' said Sakura, eyes narrowed. 'You lied to me. You like Sasuke-kun too, don't you?'_

_'What?' said Ino, eyes wide._

_'We... aren't friends anymore.'_

_--_

_'Naruto.' _

_'Ino? What do you want?'_

_'... I want to learn the shadow clone technique.'_

_--_

Tsunade gave her a neutral stare. 'I see. Here is your payment.'

Ino tried to smile, but her lips stayed in place.

Tsunade didn't notice...

But Sakura did.

--

Ino snorted disgustedly. These ninja were low-level idiots. Thrusting a knife into one kid's stomach, she turned and began lazy handsigns. A few clones later, she was surrounded by dead bodies. She grabbed the scroll, and began to head back home.

--

'The report, Hokage-sama.'

'Thank you, Ino. I want you back here tomorrow, at eight o'clock sharp.'

--

Sakura sighed. She had been working overtime for weeks now. 'Tsunade-shishou... I have a favour to ask.'

The Hokage looked up suddenly from her towers of paper. Putting a motherly smile on her face, she turned towards her _favourite_ student. 'What sort of favour, Sakura-chan?' she asked, almost sickly sweet. It may have been the alcohol, or some version of biological-clock-ran-out-of-time syndrome. Sakura steadied her hands over the stack of files she was organizing. 'What... is the matter with Ino? Why is she so _plastic_? What sort of missions do you put her on to make her this way?'

Tsunade was startled, but she tried not to show it. 'Sakura, why do you care? The village knows how you feel about her. You two fought over Sasuke, didn't you? Also, be here for eight o'clock tomorrow. I have a special mission for you.'

Sakura lowered her gaze. '... old habits die hard, I guess.' She left the room abruptly.

Tsunade was confused. 'What the hell does she mean by that? Kids these days...'

--

Sakura tried to look happy as she sat down to ramen with Naruto. He was slurping down his fifth bowl already. At seventeen, he was huge, but his appetite dwarfed even his size. Sakura looked into the silver of her spoon. Her face was distorted, with a huge nose, small eyes and her chapped lips apparent. She looked like a _rat._

'Oi, Sakura-chan.' he mumbled through thick noodles. 'What's the matter?'

'I... guess I'm fine.' she lied, mouth clumsy. In reality, she was worried about tomorrow's mission. She had overheard Tsunade mention Ino... And she was afraid of what might happen. 'Don't lie, Sakura-chan! I know you're unhappy!'

It took an hour to explain. Naruto for once, shut his mouth when Ino was mentioned. Suddenly, he burst out, saying 'She... Wanted to learn my kage bunshin technique, you know?'

'What?!' cried Sakura. 'Why didn't you tell me before? I could have...' she left off. 'What?' retorted Naruto, 'Trained with her? I thought you hated her, because she liked teme!'

'I guess.'

--


	2. Pit Bull

The next morning came too soon after a night of hard liquor and harder sex. Her bleary eyes betrayed too much pain for her liking, but she ignored it. Brushing back a lock of split ends, she dressed once more. The ritual just kept going on; a routine that would eventually kill her.

--

"Sakura, Ino. I'm glad you've arrived _on time._" barked Tsunade, her lips moving statically. The words pounded into the hungover girl's ears, while the rosy locked girl listened intently. Her master was speaking and as a loyal _dog _she would command all her attention to Tsunade. The previous day's worries had been erased by softer liquors and hugs from her best blonde friend... Naruto.

"What is our mission, Tsunade-shishou?" interrupted Sakura, hunter green eyes shining with excitement. To Ino, it looked like malice. Dully, she jumped onto Sakura's sentence. "Yes, what is it?" she droned, mouth feeling dry.

The busty woman shifted her gaze to Ino. Her eyes hardened instantly. "Well, as young kunoichi it is your duty to seduce your male counterparts. And we have word that Sasuke has joined Akatsuki. I know that both of you have been, to say the least, _infatuated_ with him. At this point in time, he is a virile young man. That may be his only weakness."

Sakura paled instantly, while Ino's eyes flickered, as she grew more attentive. "Sasuke-kun..?" whispered Sakura, lips open wide. Ino was disgusted to hear the suffix on the tip of her new _partner's_ tongue. "I don't need Sakura for this. As the whole village knows, I'm am able to seduce him easily. She doesn't need to see that..." she trailed off. _'Piece of trash. Besides, if I bring his head home she won't have to think about him anymore. I could at least have her know I'm better than him, even if she blames me. It's still something.'_

Tsunade shifted. "I think it would be best if Sakura were to come along. At the very least, she could heal you after you complete your... _services. _You two will be gone as long as needed, and you are to leave tomorrow evening. This mission is of the utmost importance, Sakura. We need to bring him back. _Dead. _"

"Hai, shishou. Ino... We had better prepare."


	3. Caught

_"The road to nowhere is a long road, indeed."_

The two women had been travelling for hours towards Cloud country. They had both memorised the file, which, long story short, told them that he had last been seen killing the Raikage's brother. He wasn't exactly low profile, so it may be easier than it could have been.

Sakura hefted up a large axe on her shoulder. Over the years, her inert strength had built up so that she could lift the ridiculous thing with minimal use of chakra. Ino was a green eyed monster, but she refused to show it. She hated the inner turmoil in her head that said Sakura was better than her. She was through the days of people being better than her. She couldn't bear it.

Deep inside, she was just a little girl with no self esteem. The years of vapid compliments about her body had dimished her soul. But she didn't want to admit that. It was beyond that; she couldn't. Ever.

"Ino. How long until Cloud Country?" asked Sakura, voice small but determined. "Running out of stamina already, little girl?" replied Ino callously, adding, "A few days, forehead." Sakura nearly stopped at the sound of the old nickname. Her heart gave a nervous jolt, and she faltered slightly. A little flame of anger burst into action. "What, Pig?!" she screeched. Ino smirked. The redness of Sakura's cheeks were icing on the cake. "I thought you had learned to control that temper... I guess not."

Sakura snorted, which to her chagrin helped label her as being more boorish. Without thinking, Sakura blurted out with a line about Ino being 'well-travelled.' Ino's own heart faltered at that. Not only had Sakura hit low, Ino had let it hurt.

In the background, the birds in the forest had stopped chirping, but they didn't notice. Ino went mute. Time passed indeterminately, and her face darkened more quickly than the sky.

Unintentional or not, it _created_ tention. A stony look had crept over the blonde's face. Sakura, at a loss began to speak in quiet tones. "Ino. That was rude, and I'm sorry. But we need to focus on the mission now."

--

The chilly hints of winter had begun to set in. He was sitting in a dirty brothel, sipping down copious amounts of vodka and eyeing dark-eyed women. Their wide hips and ample breasts provided little temptation. He was about to leave with a lusty redhead when a blonde woman caught his eye. She lifted a gentle finger to her lips and brushed back a lock of hair. Her lips moved suggestively.

"Sakura, I've got his attention."


End file.
